Vegetable Potstickers

I set myself a challenge to use up the stuff in my fridge, freezer and cupboard.
This is hard because if you know me then you know how I love to go to the supermarket to buy groceries. I admit that I like buying interesting things... except I tend to forget that I have them.

So this is the result of my challenge.
I had tofu and a lot of cabbage in the fridge.
I had gyoza skins and peas in the freezer.
I had all kinds of sauces which could be used for a dip.
Potstickers here we come!

Of course it turned out to be a bit of effort to make these little treats. - don't underestimate the work involved in sealing and 'folding' the wrappers. It was my first attempt at making these dumplings and it took the better part of an hour. Then again I had two kids screaming and running around driving me slightly crazy. In the end I gave Heidi a few wrappers and she made her own ham stuffed pot stickers, which when cooked she also ate - bonus!

The potstickers turned out to be very tasty - my stuffing included two types of cabbage, onion, a radish from my garden, garlic, peas and tofu. I served it with steamed rice, soya sauce and sweet chili sauce. Very vegetarian and very good. Well worth trying!

I found inspiration for the potstickers on Smitten Kitchen and The First Mess and adapted it liberally to suit my larder.

In short, here is what I did:
Buy the gyoza skins - let them defrost if frozen.
Chop up your vegetables and tofu - very finely.
Stir fry them for a few minutes until tender but with the colours still vibrant - adding the seasoning as per your personal preference (Besides salt and pepper I added a dash of ketjap manis to the tofu for a bit of flavour).
Set the stuffing aside and drain any excess fluid.
Now start the process of stuffing and folding the wrappers (gyoza skins or whatever you are using).
A teaspoon or two should be enough per wrapper since you don't want it too full.
Place the stuffing in the middle of the wrapper then dip your finger in a bowl of water and draw an outline on the wrapper. Fold to seal and slowly make little folds in the wrapper - this is tricky but any shape will do!
Set the potstickers on a baking sheet to rest for a few minutes.
Now heat a little bit of oil in a big skillet and place the potstickers in there one by one - fitting in as many as possible. Let is cook for a minute and then add boiling water to cover two thirds of the dumplings.
Cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes, until all water is gone.
The dumplings will become quite translucent when ready.
Enjoy!

Tomato Salad with Radish

Well I had to use the radishes we harvested.

Finely sliced I added them into a tomato salad.

Delicious!

Glorious Garlic

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had a lot of garlic and was contemplating roasting them.

Mission accomplished!

It took a while but I finally got around to roasting the garlic bulbs this week, they were patiently waiting for me to return from my holiday.

Every single recipe that I looked at followed the same basic procedure:
- Slice the top off the garlic bulb.
- Place in an oven proof dish (I used my muffin tin).
- Drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Cover with tin foil.
- Roast in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for about 40 minutes to one hour.

Before long my house was filled with the lovely sweet smell of garlic happily roasting away.
I waited a little bit too long before checking on the garlic, I should have taken a peek at 40 minutes but I got distracted and only looked at it when the timer went off after 55 minutes. Oops.

The garlic was definitely done. A little too done around the edges but still tasty.
I immediately spread a clove or 5 on a slice of buttered toast and it was well worth the effort. Glorious roasted garlic indeed.

After letting it cool, I saved it in a container in my fridge.

It has been there for 3 days and so far I have used it in mashed potatoes, a pasta dish and of course spread on toast and sprinkled with sea salt.

Do I have garlic breath? Most definitely!

Creamy Vegan Pasta Sauce

Yes, you can enjoy a delicious creamy pasta sauce even if you are eating like a Vegan!

The trick is to use a soy cream. I found a product called Alpro Soya Cuisine in my supermarket and it works like a charm.

I used it in my pasta sauce by mixing it into the sauce right before serving it. Just long enough to heat it through. No need to bring it to boiling point.

This was a very easy pasta dinner, with more than enough for lunch a couple of days later.

Ingredients:
500gram Packet of spaghetti (I used a pasta which is egg free)
One tablespoon sunflower oil
One big onion, finely chopped
One clove of garlic, crushed
Quorn vegetarian mince (one container, I think it was 275 grams or something like that)
Two hands full of mushrooms, sliced
One jar of tomato and basil ready made vegetarian pasta sauce
One courgette, grated
100ml Alpro soya cuisine
Seasoning

Method:
Heat up the oil and add the chopped onion. Saute until the onion becomes translucent and then add crushed garlic. Saute for a minute and then add the mince. Saute for a couple of minutes and then add the rest of the basic sauce ingredients (mushrooms, tomato sauce, courgette). Mix together, season as per your taste and let it simmer on a low heat for approximately 10 minutes. You might want to add a little hot water to the sauce, depending on how wet you like the sauce to be.

Now cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packet - in my case it took 10 minutes to be al dente. Drain and set aside.

The final step to the pasta sauce is to add the soy cream. Stir it in and mix well. Just keep it on the heat for about 2 minutes.

The deep red pasta sauce should turn into a creamy, almost salmon coloured sauce.

Pour the sauce over the pasta and serve.

Notes:
- Add any vegetables of your choice to the pasta sauce e.g. peppers (paprika), chillies, broccoli, etc.
- Make this a vegetarian dish by using real dairy instead of soy and adding some Parmesan cheese.

Soy Creamed Spinach

My husband is a really good cook. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before.

As a side dish to our dinner, he made creamed spinach.

He used onions, garlic, fresh spinach (washed and the stems trimmed) and soy cream.
The exact method is a secret because I walked into the door and dinner was ready.
Lucky me :-)

Roasted Vegetables Again

I make oven roasted vegetables ALL the time.
It's just easy and delicious and the perfect side dish to any meal.
Sometimes we even eat it as the main course!

Here is a photo of some vegetables seconds before I placed them in the oven.

Yes, it is something of everything in the vegetable department. Carrots, courgette, onion, garlic, potatoes and corn on the cob. I just tossed them all together with a drizzle of vegetable oil, seasoning and into the oven they went.

Funnily enough I forgot to take a photo once they were cooked :-)
I assure you though that we enjoyed eating them!

Leek and Celeriac Soup - the Very Basic Version

The rapid change in weather brought the cold and all of a sudden I found myself craving warm, comforting soup.

Soup that warms you up from the inside and makes you feel satisfied.

Leek and celeriac soup felt like just the right combination for this cold and rainy day. I decided to make a very basic version, since my ingredients were limited. It has pretty much only four ingredients: vegetable oil, leeks, celeriac and vegetable stock. That is it.

Take three large leeks, wash and trimmed, and then slice them into pretty rings. Peel and dice the celeriac. Add a dash of vegetable oil to a casserole dish (or whatever you happen to be using to make your soup in) and heat up the oil for a minute. Then place the leeks and celeriac in the dish and saute for a couple of minutes. Now add a litre or so of vegetable stock to the vegetables and season as per your personal taste.

Let is simmer for 30 - 45 minutes, stir occasionally and add water if necessary.

Once all the vegetables are nice and soft, take a hand blender and blend until you have a smooth consistency. Serve with fresh bread and enjoy.

Couscous Salad

If you want something really quick and healthy for dinner then I can suggest making a couscous salad. All the vegetables in this salad is raw and the beauty of couscous is that it is ready in 5 minutes.

This salad is served cold and is perfect for a summer evening, or pretty much any time of the year!

Ingredients:

Couscous - 250 gram or less, depending on how many mouths you have to feed. (I made enough for two adults and lunch the next day)
A hand full of green beans - cut diagonally into small pieces
2 or 3 tomatoes
Half a cucumber
Half a red onion
One small carrot - finely diced
A handful of green olives - sliced
A hand full of cashew nuts
Toasted pine nuts
A handful of raisins
Sea salt and black pepper

Dressing:
Use any dressing you like or prepare a simple vinaigrette by mixing white wine vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard and some extra virgin olive oil - I usually just adjust the quantities to my liking.

Method:

Prepare the couscous as per the packaging.
Once it is ready, let it rest and cool down. You can also add the raisins at this point (or leave them out if you don't like them).

Dice and slice all the raw vegetables and then combine together.
Season and add the dressing to the salad. Mix well.

Combine the vegetables and couscous.
Add an additional dash of extra virgin olive oil or more dressing if your salad is a bit dry.

Tomato, Cucumber, Basil and Olive Pasta Salad

I was browsing the Internet for pasta salads and came across this recipe on Jamie Oliver's website. It's called 'the best pasta salad' and I must admit it is pretty good. Jamie Oliver is and will remain one of my favourite celebrity chefs. His recipes are always straightforward and delicious. Ironically I have about 4 of his cookbooks and yet I used the Internet to find this particular recipe. Sign of the times I guess!

Here is the link to the full recipe. The main ingredients are tomato, cucumber, olives, basil and pasta. For once I actually followed the recipe to the letter... except for the amount of extra virgin olive oil. I used slightly less than in the recipe.

It is very easy to make and the perfect accompaniment to any meal. I will definitely be making it again this summer, perhaps as a side dish to a barbecue!

Lentil soup anyone?

For the first time in my life I made lentil soup.

Seems like I've always known about it, but just never made it or even ate it before. I browsed the Internet for some recipe ideas and in the end improvised, like I usually do.

It turned out really well and I will definitely make lentil soup again.

Ingredients:
250 gr red lentils
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 big carrot
1 fennel bulb
3 sticks of celery
1.2 litre vegetable stock
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
half a teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
salt & pepper

Method:
Chop the vegetables in even sized pieces.
Heat up the oil and saute the chopped onion until softened.
Add the garlic, carrots, fennel and celery. Saute for a minute or two.
Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
Add seasoning, curry and cumin powder.
Let the soup simmer on medium to low heat for about 45 minutes until everything is tender.
You might have to add some more liquid to the soup so stir and check it frequently.
Blend until smooth and creamy.

Yummy and healthy!! Thanks Deirdre for suggesting we try lentil soup - you are full of good ideas.

A very basic vegetable soup

In sticking to my mission of using up the ingredients in the house, I emptied the fridge and found a whole lot of vegetables. I decided to make soup.
Plus it was raining outside and a hearty warm soup just felt right.
This soup is pretty basic though, and I must admit that there are probably a lot of other ingredients that I would have liked to add... but alas, I made do with what I had.
I am not going to lie, this soup needs quite a bit of seasoning and I personally found it a little bland.
Another day, another meal done so I am not complaining.

Ingredients:
One head of broccoli
Half a cucumber
Two shallots
Two cloves of garlic
One tomato
Three carrots
One potato
One litre of vegetable stock
One tablespoon of vegetable oil
Seasoning

Method:
Peel the shallots, garlic, carrots and potato.
Chop up all vegetables.
Heat up the oil in a large pot and add all the ingredients except for the vegetable stock.
Saute for a minute or two then add the stock.
Simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes or until the veggies are soft.
Blend or serve it as is with whole wheat bread rolls.

I tend to blend the soup because I am more likely to get Heidi to eat the soup that way. In fact, I think this soup will probably be better eaten as is since it will have more texture. The choice is yours.

Tip: Add a can of butter beans to vegetable soup - yummy!

Pumpkin, carrot and ginger soup - interesting, no?

So I didn't quite make it to the supermarket today... that meant improvising.
Soup for dinner seemed like the easiest thing to do.
In fact, I believe that you can make soup from just about any vegetable.
Today I had some pumpkin and carrots and my husband got childlike excited when I mentioned that the soup is going to be quite orange.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups pumpkin
2 cups carrots
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 litre vegetable stock
1 shallot
1 clove garlic
some finely grated ginger

Method:
Finely dice the onion and the garlic
Heat the oil and then saute the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes until softened
Peel the carrots and the pumpkin and chop into roughly the same size pieces
Grate the ginger (not much is needed) and make some vegetable stock (I use a cube for about a litre of water)
Add the carrots, pumpkin and ginger to the pan and saute for a minute, then add the vegetable stock.
Let it simmer away for about 30 minutes until the carrots are nice and soft
Blend and serve up with some lovely wholewheat rolls.

This recipe made one bowl each for the three of us... and next time I will double the ingredients so that there is enough for a second helping.

Note: I only used ginger since I happen to have some in the house. In fact, I am not sure if ginger really works with the rest of the ingredients but my husband seemed to really like it. Use it, don't use it - you decide!

Japanese style string beans

We recently were invited for lunch by my good friend Catherine and her lovely family. She made a delicious vegan feast just for us and one of the dishes was japanese style beans.

It is really good and makes a great addition to any meal.

Here is her recipe. It turned out just a tasty as I remembered.

"You need to go to a TOKO and in the Japanese section buy some toasted sesame seeds. They come in thin packets approximately 12cm x 8cm.  About 2 heaped desert spoons are needed - place in pestle & mortar and crush a bit until there is some powder, some large chunks and some whole ones. Then add about a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, a level teaspoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons (30ml) of soy sauce, and the same of water. Cook the beans as required (I boil for 4-5 minutes), drain, cool...then add dressing. Voila!"

This dish can be served hot or cold - versatile and delicious!

Vegetable Stir Fry with Smoked Tofu and Basmati Rice

Yet another excellent way to use vegetables.
Stir fry them!

I am not that good at stir fries so my husband usually 'assists'.
Its teamwork - I slice and dice vegetables and put on the rice, he does the stirring and the frying.

Tonight we had vegetable stir fry with smoked tofu. It was very tasty.
To tell the truth... Tofu does not really appeal to me. But prepared well it is a great addition to the meal. Smoked Tofu is definitely the way to go.

Ingredients:
Basmati rice
Brown mushrooms, one red onion, tauge (bean sprouts), Chinese cabbage, one 'slab' of smoked tofu, 3 carrots, one cup of pineapple pieces
One tablespoon safflower oil
One tablespoon soy sauce
One tablespoon sweet chili sauce
Seasoning (salt & pepper)
Optional: Add a delicious vegetarian spring roll

Method:
Firstly, make the basmati rice. I usually make enough to serve three people - just follow the instructions on the box. I add the rice to boiling water, simmer on medium heat for 8 minutes then drain the water. Let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes and its ready to serve.

Heat up the spring rolls - any which way you like. I popped 4 cooked spring rolls into a preheated oven for about 10 minutes and timed it to be ready with the stir fry.

Slice the mushrooms and chop up the rest of the veggies and tofu
Heat the oil in a wok pan (if you have one, if not then just use a regular pan)
Add the onions and stir fry until slightly soft
Add the carrots, add the mushrooms, add the pineapple, add the tofu
Add the soy sauce, seasoning and sweet chili sauce
Stir fry for a few minutes then add the Chinese cabbage and lastly the bean sprouts.
Stir fry until the veggies are tender but not overcooked.

Serve with the basmati rice and enjoy!

Next time I think I might add some peanuts or cashew nuts...

Leek and Celeriac soup

Soup is good.
It is easy and healthy.
Some days it is the only way I can get Heidi to eat her vegetables. She loves her soup and I love it when she eats vegetables.

Celeriac is an interesting vegetable.
Let's face it. It is ugly.
You almost feel sorry for it.
Even the teenager working behind the till in the supermarket didn't know what it was...
Don't let its looks deter you from using it though, it is great in soup or roasted or mash it with potatoes for an excellent twist on mash potatoes.

Here is my recipe for leek and celeriac soup.
Try it, modify it, do whatever you like but have some soup!

Ingredients:
One big leek, one celeriac, two cloves of garlic, 3 carrots, one medium sized potatoe
600 ml vegetable stock
Seasoning (Salt & pepper)
One tablespoon of safflower oil

Method:
Peel the celeriac and carrots, wash the leek.
Chop up the vegetables in even sized chunks - don't let the celeriac sit peeled too long since it will colour.
In a large pot (I use my casserole dish) heat up the oil and add the leek. Stir for a minute or two.
Add the carrots, celeriac and seasoning.
Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
Let it simmer covered for 40 to 50 minutes.
Once all the veggies are soft and the lovely aroma fills your kitchen, let it cool down slightly and then blend. I use a handblender - it should become silky smooth.

Serve with delicious wholewheat bread.